Welcome to the coldest village on earth where the average
temperature in January is -50C and inhabitant's eye lashes freeze solid mere
moments after stepping outside.

The remote Siberian village of Oymyakon is the coldest
permanently inhabited settlement in the world.

It was so icy in the Russian village that a new electronic
thermometer conked out after recording a bone-cracking minus 62C.

Temperature in the remote Siberian village of Oymyakon
average -50C in January

The official weather station at the 'pole of cold'
registered minus 59C, but locals said their readings were as low as minus 67C -
less than 1C off the lowest accepted temperature for a permanent settlement
anywhere in the world.

And that record breaking recording was taken in the town
back in 1933.

One villager in Oymyakon recorded a temperature of minus
67C, while others agreed that the official reading of minus 59C did not tell
the full story.

The digital thermometer was installed last year to help
Oymyakon market itself to tourists, but it gave up the ghost at minus 62C.

'It broke because it was too cold,' reported The Siberian
Times.

The remote village is the coldest permanently inhabited
settlement in the world

Temperatures dropped so low in the Russian village that a
new electronic thermometer broke at a bone-cracking minus 62C

The town's name translates as 'the water that doesn't
freeze' and comes from the fact it sits above a thermal spring

The village is home to around 500 hardy people and in the
1920s and 1930s was a stopover for reindeer herders who would water their
flocks from the thermal spring.

This is how the town got its name which translates as 'the
water that doesn't freeze'.

The Soviet government later made the site a permanent
settlement during a drive to force its nomadic population into putting down
roots.

In 1933, a temperature of minus 67.7C was recorded in
Oymyakon, accepted as the lowest ever in the northern hemisphere.

Lower temperatures are recorded in Antarctica, but here
there are no permanently inhabited settlements.

Fish at Siberian market remains frozen without need for
freezer

Lower temperatures are recorded in Antarctica but only in
areas where there are no permanent settlements

Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen
ink freezing, glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power.

Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear
of not being able to restart them.

Rock solid earth makes burying the dead a difficult task.
The earth must first have thawed sufficiently in order to dig, so a bonfire is
lit for a few hours.

Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole just a few
inches deep is dug. The process is repeated for several days until the
hole is deep enough to bury the coffin.

Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear
of not being able to restart them

Fish venders have no need to refrigerate their wares as the
temperature keeps them from rotting away